There's a place where first impressions are even more crucial than at a job interview or at dinner with our future in-laws: the courtroom.

Yet court officials are constantly surprised by the imprudence of people's courtroom-clothing choices.

One doctor in Texas appeared at his own medical-malpractice trial in blue jeans. 'In the old days, parents used to teach us to dress up in certain places,' says Richard Waites, a psychologist and trial consultant who was working for the hospital that employed the doctor.

Can clothes tip the scales of justice? We'd like to think not. There are the merits of the case, after all. But as Dr. Waites suggests, 'Justice isn't black and white. It's gray most of the time.'

One California judge I spoke with says she takes account of both the appearance and the behavior of those who come before her court. Sloppy dress at trial might seem to add to the case against a father accused of neglectful child-rearing, she says. Or a woman who is claiming poverty in a financialhearing might undermine her case if she's wearing highly expensive clothing.

Juries may be even more judgmental, especially as they sit for hours with little to look at . . . but you.

'Jurors notice everything,' says Patricia Glaser, a business litigator whose clients have included Kirk Kerkorian and Conan O'Brien. 'They notice the wedding ring, they notice if your hair is parted on the right or left, they notice if it's an Italian-cut suit or a Brooks Brothers, they notice if your shoes are scuffed every day, just like they notice if you're on time or not.'

Courts have rules of decorum for both behavior and dress. It's rare for judges to impose sanctions. When it does happen, it sometimes makes headlines: In May, a woman was held in contempt of court and jailed over a T-shirt with a message a judge found offensive, according to news reports. In April, a man wearing black jeans was turned away from an Inkster, Mich., court -- missing his traffic-court date.

When going to court, most of us would be advised to look like the embodiment of the Boy Scout creed -- trustworthy, loyal and helpful. 'It's like dressing for church,' says divorcelawyer Stacy Phillips, whose clients have included a sweet-looking Britney Spears in polka dots. She has lent her own clothes to ill-prepared clients, and their moms, on the way in to court.

It's also important to think about the more subtle messages that apparel can send. While a business suit is usually a safe choice, there may be cases in which it's not. Ms. Phillips says she represented a high-ranking femaleexecutive recruiter, who favored severe dark business suits, in a child-custody case. She sent the woman shopping for 'pastels and skirts,' she says. 'I wanted her to look vulnerable.' Meanwhile, a double-breasted suit, with its air of entitlement, may be too smug.

Even ties -- while usually advisable if the choice is conservative and doesn't attract attention -- may not be right in every situation. Ms. Glaser says she recently asked her real estate-developer clients not to wear ties in order to soften their edge. They don't normally wear ties, she noted, so they don't look comfortable in them.

For women, conservative slacks are as acceptable as a skirt or dress, according to nearly every court official I interviewed. Yet all of the women (the judge and the attorneys) say they prefer to wear skirts themselves in court.

While there was little consensus on pantyhose, there's no downside to wearing them (fashion considerations aside). There is, though, a possible downside to going bare-legged: Plenty of people believe fervently that a lady isn't fully dressed without her hose. If you get one of those judges, a pair of sheer nylons could prove a worthy investment.

I spent a day in Los Angeles Superior Court recently -- for research purposes, thankfully -- and was surprised at the variety of looks. I saw a tattoo on a lawyer's neck, for instance, and a lot of tees, untucked shirts, and jeans, both neat and sloppy, on litigants and witnesses. Dr. Waites says tattoos and business casual garb are more common these days, even among lawyers, but he wagers they're a fad that will quickly disappear.

The judge I spoke with says it isn't necessary to wear expensive clothes. I observed a middle-aged Latino couple who were tenants testifying in a trial involving housing code violations. The couple looked as though they had dressed up for church, she in a blue floral dress and jacket, and he in a pressed shirt and slacks. The landlord's representatives looked wrinkled and overly business-casual. They also seemed cocky. Was it the evidence or fashion factors that left my sympathies with the tenants?

'What we wear says so much about you,' says Nina Garcia, a judge on the Lifetime Television show 'Project Runway' and author of the recently released book 'What To Wear Where.' Before a court appearance, she suggests asking, 'How do you want to portray yourself?

Ms. Garcia's list of courtroom no-nos includes see-through or low-cut clothes, mini dresses, heavy makeup, loud patterns, clashing colors and noisy bangles. She advises looking for conservative clothes from 'wholesome brands' like Banana Republic, Ann Taylor or Brooks Brothers.

One parting and practical piece of advice, from Ms. Phillips, the lawyer: Take a jacket or sweater. Courtrooms can get chilly in many ways.

Christina Binkley

• interview [´intəvju:] n.&vt.接见；会见；交谈 (初中英语单词)
• constantly [´kɔnstəntli] ad.经常地；不断地 (初中英语单词)
• working [´wə:kiŋ] a.工人的；劳动的 (初中英语单词)
• california [,kæli´fɔ:njə] n.加利福尼亚 (初中英语单词)
• account [ə´kaunt] vi.说明 vt.认为 n.帐目 (初中英语单词)
• poverty [´pɔvəti] n.贫穷(乏，瘠)；不足 (初中英语单词)
• financial [fi´nænʃəl] a.金融的，财政的 (初中英语单词)
• expensive [ik´spensiv] a.费钱的，昂贵的 (初中英语单词)
• wedding [´wediŋ] n.婚礼，结婚 (初中英语单词)
• impose [im´pəuz] v.课税；强加；利用 (初中英语单词)
• missing [´misiŋ] a.缺掉的；失踪的 (初中英语单词)
• divorce [di´vɔ:s] n.离婚 vt.同....离婚 (初中英语单词)
• lawyer [´lɔ:jə] n.律师；法学家 (初中英语单词)
• female [´fi:meil] a.女(性)的 n.女人 (初中英语单词)
• executive [ig´zekjutiv] a.行政的 n.行政官 (初中英语单词)
• severe [si´viə] a.严厉的；苛刻的 (初中英语单词)
• meanwhile [´mi:n´wail] n.&ad.其间；同时 (初中英语单词)
• soften [´sɔfən] v.使(变)软(柔和) (初中英语单词)
• worthy [´wə:ði] a.有价值的；值得的 (初中英语单词)
• research [ri´sə:tʃ] n.&vi.调查；探究；研究 (初中英语单词)
• variety [və´raiəti] n.变化；多样(性)；种类 (初中英语单词)
• instance [´instəns] n.例子，实例，例证 (初中英语单词)
• jacket [´dʒækit] n.茄克衫；外套 (初中英语单词)
• banana [bə´nɑ:nə] n.香蕉 (初中英语单词)
• republic [ri´pʌblik] n.共和国；共和政体 (初中英语单词)
• chilly [´tʃili] a.凉飕飕的 (初中英语单词)
• behavior [bi´heiviə] n.举止，行为 (高中英语单词)
• hearing [´hiəriŋ] n.听力；听证会；审讯 (高中英语单词)
• contempt [kən´tempt] n.轻蔑；受辱；不顾 (高中英语单词)
• offensive [ə´fensiv] a.冒犯的 n.进攻 (高中英语单词)
• apparel [ə´pærəl] n.衣服 vt.给...修饰 (高中英语单词)
• conservative [kən´sə:vətiv] a.保守的 n.保守者 (高中英语单词)
• casual [´kæʒuəl] a.偶然的；临时的 (高中英语单词)
• lifetime [´laiftaim] n.一生，终生，寿命 (高中英语单词)
• acceptable [ək´septəbəl] a.可接受的；合意的 (英语四级单词)
• parting [´pɑ:tiŋ] a.&n.分离(的) (英语四级单词)
• sweater [´swetə] n.毛线衫 (英语四级单词)
• psychologist [sai´kɔlədʒist] n.心理学家 (英语六级单词)
• undermine [,ʌndə´main] vt.在...下面掘地道 (英语六级单词)
• advisable [əd´vaizəbl] a.合适的，得当的 (英语六级单词)
• normally [´nɔ:məli] ad.正常情况下；通常 (英语六级单词)
• fervently [´fə:vəntli] ad.火热地，热烈地 (英语六级单词)
• middle-aged [´midl´eidʒid] a.中年的 (英语六级单词)
• portray [pɔ:´trei] v.画；描写；扮演 (英语六级单词)